2012-06-14 Vatican Radio

‘Imagine a miracle’ in South Sudan was the focus of a conference held on Tuesday by Solidarity with South Sudan, a consortium of over 200 religious congregations which supports development in the world’s newest nation.
Independence for South Sudan was declared in July last year, yet since that time the border area has been a constant scene of conflict with the north over oil, water, mineral resources or the fertile grazing and agricultural land.
Corruption in the new government is rife, while the needs of the people in the south are overwhelming. It’s officially the most illiterate country in the world and 1 in 4 children die before their 5^th birthday. Hard to imagine a miracle in such dire conditions.
Yet that’s just what Solidarity with South Sudan is urging us to do: to see where progress can be made, to support the development process and, in the words of one sister, to watch over the growth of this newest child in the family of African nations.
To find out more, Philippa Hitchen spoke to Sr Roxanne Shares, coordinator of the justice, peace and integrity of creation network for her congregation, the School Sisters of Notre Dame. She’s worked closely alongside Solidarity with South Sudan since its inception in 2004 and regularly visits the education and health, reconciliation and training projects it runs throughout the region....

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